This is a travesty: the U.S. company “Covenant” wants to produce long-range missiles in Leipzig, the capital of the peaceful revolution of 1989—and politicians from the Greens and the CDU are even welcoming that. Germany’s evening news program “Tagesschau” reported yesterday. Covenant plans to produce 5,000 missiles of the “Anthem” type there, for use by the German and other European armed forces against Russia, with production beginning in the first quarter of 2027. The missile is said to have a range of more than 1,500 kilometers, transporting a 200-kilogram warhead for precision strikes.

“There will be a multitude of well-paid, exciting jobs,” Tagesschau quoted Covenant CEO Abigail Denburg. “In the first year, we’ll produce about 1,000 units and then ramp up to 5,000. That’s our annual production target.” With respect to the number of jobs, however, Jens Lehmann, a CDU member of the Bundestag from Leipzig, who explicitly welcomed the project, spoke only of “more than 70 jobs.” Pointing to the job losses in the automotive industry, Lehmann said the facility sends an “important signal” for Leipzig, Lehmann said.